Tag Archives: French

Au Revoir, Dr. Ferlinghetti

Posted on February 24, 2021 by JMN

“In some ways what I really did was mind the store,” he told The Guardian in 2006. “When I arrived in San Francisco in 1951 I was wearing a beret. If anything I was the last of the bohemians rather … Continue reading →

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Tom, Dick, and Harry

Posted on November 9, 2020 by JMN

There was a fun question in my daily Spanish Quora: ¿Existe en inglés el equivalente a “fulano, mengano y zutano”? The consensus in the answer thread was that “Tom, Dick and Harry” was the closest equivalent. I’m reminded of my … Continue reading →

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The Pain of Poetry

Posted on August 20, 2020 by JMN

My correspondent in life of the mind states my state of mind neatly and plainly in the matter of phosphorescent gargoyle exhalations swaddled in effulgent gossamer — I mean to say prosody. Now I remember why I, and doubtless others … Continue reading →

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¡Viva el pinche Franglaisismo!

Posted on April 9, 2020 by JMN

Mixing English and French with artistic abandon “irks some purists.” The irking of purists is always and never a good sign for those who straddle irkdom. FouKi, a popular Quebec rapper whose real name is Léo Fougères, observed that Franglais … Continue reading →

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On Being an Afterthought

Posted on April 29, 2019 by JMN

I like learning that the average reading speed for adult viewers of subtitled movies is 15 to 17 characters a second, that 37-42 characters fit on a line, and the number of lines is limited to two. A sad fact, … Continue reading →

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